Propagation and material-interface effects in the higher-order harmonic radiation from solid-state samples

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive simulation approach for high-harmonic generation in solids, accounting for propagation effects, material interfaces, and realistic sample thicknesses, revealing complex interference phenomena affecting the harmonic spectra.

Contribution

It introduces a full spatial and temporal resolution simulation method including material interfaces, advancing beyond previous one-dimensional models for solid HHG.

Findings

Fresnel reflections cause interference near the surface affecting HHG spectra.

Different harmonic spectral regions originate from different sample depths.

Realistic simulations are crucial for accurate interpretation of solid HHG experiments.

Abstract

The propagation-effects reshaping the excitation pulse are known to exhibit a strong influence on the high-harmonic generation (HHG) in solid-state media. Previous measurements showed that the mid-infrared pulse dynamics, most importantly the nonlinear loss and spectral broadening, can dampen or even extinguish the highest harmonic peaks. Despite the importance of these effects, their inclusion in the HHG simulations has been so far restricted to one-dimensional propagation and/or very thin samples. This work demonstrates an approach where the driving pulse is simulated with a full spatial and temporal resolution in samples of realistic thickness while the material interfaces are included as well. We show that the HHG spectrum measured in the transmission geometry is greatly affected by the Fresnel reflections causing interference in the vicinity of the material surface, and we find that different parts of the harmonic spectra originate from different regions of the material sample. Our results underline the importance of realistic and comprehensive simulations in the interpretation of high-harmonic generation from solids in the transmission-geometry.